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Trace Modeler

Trace Modeler is an easy-to-use and smart UML sequence diagram editor. The development tool is extremely portable, works on all major platforms, requires no installation, and has very accommodating license terms. Trace Modeler combines the immediate and automatic layout of UML sequence diagrams with a simple drag and drop interface. A single-user license costs $119 and academic and volume discounts are available. A free, fully functional evaluation version is available for download.

Trace Modeler Benefits

Diagram layout is updated instantly and automatically whenever you make a change

Look and layout of your diagrams is controlled by style settings and easily changed

Diagrams are always visually pleasing and structurally correct

Sequence diagrams are notorious for their rigid layout constraints. Even a simple design change can require a complex rearrangement of diagram elements. Surprisingly, most developers can expect little help from their UML tool in this matter. They’re forced to express their design ideas using low-level shape manipulations and have to (re)layout their diagram manually whenever they change it. Not only is this tedious and a waste of their time, it also distracts from the task at hand.

Trace Modeler’s main benefit is that it can save developers a tremendous amount of time. It instantly updates a diagram’s layout whenever it changes, freeing the user to focus on the actual content. In addition, its layout engine ensures that every diagram is visually pleasing and structurally correct.

Diagrams are stored in a simple and readable text-based file format, ideal for versioning systems and file comparison tools. This format makes it easy to generate sequence diagrams with other tools or from running code, and visualize them with Trace Modeler. Diagrams can be exported to various popular graphics formats and the clipboard. It also offers a batch export feature that can be used from the command-line for easy integration into any automated documentation process.

The visual appearance of a diagram is controlled by a handful of style settings. These enable the user to give it a consistent look with just a few clicks. Trace Modeler also offers a couple of unique features such as splitting activations, inlining message calls, smart flow-based comment connectors, right-to-left diagram layout and full bidi-text support for non-Western scripts, automatic object lifetimes and control flow highlighting.